My Notes

My Notes

This brisket is good home cooking at its finest. It is one of those ultimate comfort foods—everyone around the table will feel safe and secure when they taste this. All is good in the world tonight.
The recipe can be prepared several days ahead, and the brisket freezes beautifully. It’s nice to have things like this tucked away for those days when you really don’t feel like cooking. Serve it with just about anything: potato puree, buttered noodles, more vegetables.

Truc: When slicing meats, always try to cut across the grain of the meat, and remember to let the meat rest a few minutes (or more) before you slice into it. Why? As meats finish roasting, their juices are rolling around like boiling water in a pot. After the meat rests briefly, the juices cool and settle into place, attached to the strands of protein in the meat. If you let meats rest after cooking, the juices won’t leak out onto the counter when the meat is sliced. They will stay put, making the meat more flavorful, juicy, and tender.

Note: Choose a pan with high sides for this recipe. It must be deep enough to hold the brisket, the vegetables, and the sauce. You also have to remember where you stashed the lid to the pan, or you can cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil.

Instructions

Put the olive oil in a roasting pan or a large, ovenproof sauté pan and place over high heat.

Season the brisket generously with salt and pepper.

When the oil is hot, gently sear the meat on all sides until good and golden brown.Remove meat from the pan and set aside on a serving platter.

Add the garlic, onion, carrot, and celery to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, still on high heat.

Add the rosemary and a bit more salt and pepper.

Add the butter and cook until melted.

Lower the heat to medium and sprinkle in the flour. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the red wine, raise the heat to high, and cook for 2 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan so the ingredients do not stick.

Add the tomatoes, crushing them a bit with your hands—yes, your hands—as you put them into the pan.

Add the chicken stock and the quartered button mushrooms, and stir everything around in the pan.

Add porcini mushrooms (sliced, if the pieces are very large) along with their soaking liquid.

Return the brisket to the pan and cover with the lid or aluminium foil.

Place in the oven and braise gently for 2 to 3 hours, checking occasionally to make sure the liquid is not boiling. The meat should be very tender, almost “falling off the bone,” and the sauce will have thickened slightly.

Turn off the heat, but leave the pan undisturbed inside the oven for 30 minutes.

Remove the meat to a cutting board, slice across the grain into thin slices, and arrange on a serving platter. Garnish with the sauce and vegetables from the pan and serve.

This was the first time I made a brisket and the recipe was very close to perfect. The sauce was rich and flavorful and full of texture. I only used 1 oz of porcini mushrooms and it was great for me but if you love them then add them all. The meat was very tender and juicy. I made mine in a Nesco Roaster oven so that the long cooking time did not monopolize my oven. I will make this again for sure!